This $460,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Integrative Activities Program (CFDA 47.083) supports a collaborative research project led by Howard University to develop an innovative electromagnetic (EM)/microwave-assisted catalytic process for in-situ hydrogen (H2) generation within petroleum reservoir formations.
The key objectives of this 3-year research effort are to: 1) elucidate the fundamental rock-hydrocarbon-water-catalyst interactions under EM/microwave heating and develop new kinetic models for converting hydrocarbons to H2; 2) develop neural network-assisted high-performance simulation methods to model the nonlinear and multiphysics phenomena of EM-thermal interactions; 3) identify rate-limiting processes for H2 generation; and 4) explore pathways to scale up the experimental results. The research aims to establish a practical alternative to conventional H2 production methods that generate high CO2 emissions. The project will involve laboratory experiments, computational modeling, and simulation to enable an integrated understanding of the underlying science and engineering for this novel in-situ H2 generation approach.